bobc4d
Aquarium Advice Freak
why is the bottom of an aquarium glass? why isn't it metal or something unbreakable? along the same vein, how much weight will the bottom glass take?
Rutrag said:Metal can corrode, leach the corrosion into the water, and can be dented. There's also the problem of bonding it to something clear. For home aquariums, I imagine the weight plus the prep to make it fish and invert safe could be cost prohibitive.
Long ago glass tanks had slate bottoms and were inside a metal frame. I had a 15 gallon slate bottom I found at a LFS I used to work at. I bet it weighed 40 pounds empty.
The way your basic all glass aquarium is made, the weight of the water pressing on the bottom glass actually transfers through to the outside edges of the tank. (The bottom glass is recessed.). It's cheap to manufacture and pretty durable.
The bottom glass is pretty strong and can accept a lot of weight so long as it's not shock loaded or point loaded.
why is the bottom of an aquarium glass? why isn't it metal or something unbreakable? along the same vein, how much weight will the bottom glass take?